New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 2,300 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.14% of Balchem worth $7,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Balchem by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 67,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,980,000 after purchasing an additional 3,110 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Balchem by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 92,796 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter valued at about $689,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter valued at about $503,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Balchem Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $163.78 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $162.76 and a 200 day moving average of $169.38. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.03, a PEG ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.69. Balchem Co. has a 1-year low of $137.69 and a 1-year high of $186.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $0.87 dividend. This is an increase from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a yield of 0.4%. Balchem’s payout ratio is presently 23.39%.

Balchem Company Profile

Balchem Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets specialty performance ingredients and products for the nutritional, food, pharmaceutical, animal health, medical device sterilization, plant nutrition, and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Human Nutrition and Health, Animal Nutrition and Health, and Specialty Products.